The United Church of Christ's ecumenical officer, the Rev. Karen Georgia A. Thompson, is attending the World Council of Churches Central Committee meeting in Greece this week.

She is one of 115 delegates of the WCC Committee in Crete for the nine-day gathering which is meant to prepare for next year's 10th WCC World Assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea. Also attending was UCC general minister Rev. Geoffrey Black.

"The [Committee] has a full agenda, as this is its final meeting prior to the Assembly in Korea," Thomson said, according to United Church of Christ News. "The [Committee] is faced with decision-making around governance, which is a primary issue and will come before the assembly delegates for further action."

The Central Committee – which is meeting this year in Kolympari, Gree at the Orthodox Academy of Crete - is the governing body for the WCC, which meets every 18 months.

The WCC's revised mission statement released August 30 pushes for "mission from the margins" to ensure all people are embraced in a diverse world, according to the report. The statement, developed by the Commission on World Evangelism, will be presented to delegates at the World Assembly next year.

The Rev. Dr. Bernice Powell Jackson of the UCC, and WCC president for North America, talked about issues of gender justice in concerning churches, according to the WCC.

She said that while "we talk about gender justice issues for women of today's world and the future world, it is important to say that these are not just questions of equality in the church or even not just questions of equality in the world."

"These are life and death issues. They cannot be pigeon-holed into one area. And it is important to say that these cannot just be the work of women," added Jackson.